Thompson said Geelong may have lost by 57 points but the way it fought the game out was a strong sign for the future and showed it was still on track with its youth policy.

``Seeing Brisbane absolutely smash sides and then run away, our young side today boxed on well,'' he said after the match.

``We were tackling and had as many kicks, we won as many balls and nearly matched them with the score in the last quarter.''

The Cats face up to a revitalised Hawthorn next Saturday after its strong win over the Kangaroos.